Palm Plantation

Lately my good days have been few and far between and I spend most of my time in my house reading. So I was relieved by an afternoon bike ride to a palm plantation where I harvested palm nuts with my own hands!

There were two kinds of palm trees on the plantation. One type was the typical, tall one shown in this picture, and the other type had the same leaves, but no trunk.

This is me with my student's dad and some random old lady. They were thrilled to have a white person and we had a blast speaking in Susu!

This is me with my student's mom

These are palm nuts growing at the base of the tree (second type)  

Harvesting the palm nuts 

"Finished" product. You can eat palm nuts straight from the tree. They are oily and very fibrous.

There I was, in the middle of nowhere, just living life. Aside from my student, his dad, his mom, and the old lady, not a single person in the world knew where I was! It's always weird to have those moments when I realize that's my life.

I would have loved to have spent more time on the plantation, but after checking out the palm trees and the rice fields, I returned home with memories, pictures, and about 30 mangoes to add to the 15 already rotting on my kitchen table.  

FOTE

It's finally here! Your unofficial guide to the word foté. The word foté is the Susu word for white. It can be used to reference anything white; a t-shirt, a bird, etc. However, this seemingly innocent little word has been adapted for another, rather more sinister purpose. The most popular use is to scream it at strangers. This includes, Americans, Europeans, Asians, basically anyone who is not from Africa. Although, this can get a little tricky, because even African Americans are referred to as foté by the people here. Aside from the time I've spent in other regions of Guinea, I haven't gone a single day here without hearing that word. It can also be used to note disdain for someone's beliefs, cultures, or practices. For example, I was using flashcards (generously provided by Kelly Barb) to help young children learn addition. An adult walked past, looking suspiciously at the cards and told me that I was teaching them the foté way to do math, and that I needed to stop. So I did, and we did the foré version of math, using a stick to draw lines in the sand.

I would say about 50 percent of the time people here don't use foté to insult people. Kids are thrilled to see a white person, and I there is a slug-bug like game. Whoever spots the white person first wins. They even turn the word into a chant, and will holler it until you are out of sight. The other fifty percent of the time, adults use it to mock the foreigner for their language, their way of living, or to laugh at them when they make a mistake. EH FOTÉ – if I had a penny for every time I heard that....

Common phrases using the word foté include

fote xui – Foté xui, as far as I can tell, is any language that didn't originate in Africa. French, the official language of the country, is considered a “foté language” and I've heard parents rebuke their kids for using it. Obviously English is a “foté language” as are many, many others. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked me to stop speaking a foté language because “it isn't good.” Strangely enough, I've never heard Arabic referred to as a “foté language” even though it definitely didn't originate in Guinea, or in Africa. I know this is because they are Muslim, and Arabic holds tremendous importance for them, but as far as this writer is concerned, Arabic meets the “foté language” requirements.

foté kike – Kike means month. So foté kike, is the foreigners month, or, the Gregorian calendar as opposed to the foré kike, or lunar calendar. Now, the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced here hundreds of years ago, is used for everything except religious holidays. These are tracked using the Lunar Calendar. No one ever knows exactly when a holiday will be, because they wait for the text message from the head Imam in the capital saying he's seen the full moon. I doubt there are more than five people in my village who could tell you what lunar day it is. Nevertheless, they continue to refer to it as the foreigners calendar.

foté taa – The land of the white people! As far as I've been able to tell, this includes America, Europe, Asia, bacially anywhere outside of Africa. Whenever they see a photograph, they ask if it is foté taa. I had a National Geographic with a feature on India, and was asked if that was foté taa. Once again, I have to wonder why Mecca isn't considered foté taa, but I haven't been able to get a straight answer out of anyone.

There you have it. Everything you ever wanted to know about the word foté and more! If you have any questions, this foté will do her best to help answer them!

'Til Death Do Us Part

Somewhere on the unofficial “are you a good volunteer” checklist, is the question, do you attend cultural events in your community? Here in Guinea, that mostly means weddings and funerals, and I was lucky enough to go to both within a week of each other. I realize this is not the first time I'm writing about both a sad and a happy event as if they were the same thing. I've noticed that I leave each of these events feeling pretty much the same: emotionally exhausted, frustrated, mortified, etc. I could continue, but you get the idea.

Last month, I spent a week worrying that one of my students had died. After attending a funeral next door, I ran into one of my female students, who in tears, said a word I never caught, then one of my student's name, and then “is dead.” I thought back to what people had been talking about during the funeral and realized they had used the word xarandi (student) quite frequently. So, I was left feeling horrible about myself because I had been at one of my students funeral and didn't even know it. But that unknown word kept haunting me...it could've been anything, including brother or sister. A few days later, I was outside in the dark, and someone greeted me. I could've sworn it was the student in question, but it was dark, so I wasn't sure, which made it even worse. Finally, about a week later, he walked by my house and I sighed in relief. He was very much alive, and I still had all my students. A similar event occurred this past week. My principal had gathered all the students and was lecturing them about how they need to stop riding on the tops of semi-trucks, because of how dangerous it is. He then proceeded to mention that several students had died in an accident the night before. Horrified, I scanned the ranks to see who was missing. It was only later that he told me it wasn't anyone from our school and I was able to once again sigh in relief. I'm terrified of the day when that won't be an option, and when I do end up losing a student.

This brings me to the wedding. I was coming home from a run, and found a crowd of people at my neighbors and DJ's setting up speakers. I went over and asked what was going on. A marriage, they told me, pointing to the bride who was getting her hair done. She didn't look very happy. She looked young and terrified, and I couldn't blame her. Girls here are normally married between the ages of 15 and 18 to men who are much older and who may already have 1, 2, or 3 wives. Several hours later, the music started up, and people old and young flocked to it. Even though it was around 10 PM, I ventured out of my house and picked a nice spot in the shadows, away from the speakers and the light. I wasn't permitted to stay there long, but instead was moved next-to the speakers, which were loud enough to cause a pounding headache and the illusion that my ears were bleeding. I refused to stay there, and so they moved me about 5ft from the speaker, right in front of the DJ. It took him all of about a second to notice me and then it was what I had dreaded. “Look here everyone! Look at the FOTÉ. FOTÉ come dance with me.” To which I shook my head and vehemently refused to move. This little exchange went on for about 5 minutes before one of my neighbors grabbed my arm telling me I had to do it , and that I was being an embarrassment to the community. So I got up, and “danced” in front of hundreds of people who were all cheering and whistling at me. As mortifying as this was, it wasn't however the worst part of the night. People then came up around me and started putting money into my hands which I then had to place on a platter in front of the soon-to-be couple. Only after this was I allowed to sit down. Once I was back in my seat, the DJ began calling up all the other rich people who were present. Little did I know, they do this at every wedding. They call up the “patrons” and then it becomes a contest of who gives the most money to the bride and groom. Honestly, the scene brought to mind the part of the Ten Commandments movie when they are worshipping the golden calf. They were doing the same thing to the money given by the rich people. And here I was, the obviously rich because of my skin color, a stingy grinch who didn't give my money away to complete strangers.

Here in Guinea, I'm asked, every day, why I'm here but don't give people my money. I've stopped explaining that I'm here as a volunteer, because most of them could care less that I'm here to help their children. Instead they demand that I buy them dinner and get offended and angry when I tell them that I can't. I guess a lifetime of receiving handouts from aid grants and other sources has conditioned them to expect white people to throw money at them. This fact has made me more than a few enemies in my village, and the wedding only made it worse. At this point, I had to either leave or cry in front of my entire village, and so I left by faking a phone call, and proceeded to lock myself in my house. I then decided that I never want to attend a wedding again. This decision was reenforced by the blaring music that kept me up until 4 am and the mocking that ensued the following day. I never thought I'd say that I would rather go to a funeral than a wedding, but then again, this country has made me say and do a lot of things I never thought I would.  

Malaria

Malaria. That's that mosquito disease right? Did you know that malaria used to kill people in the United States? Did you know that a child dies every 60 seconds from malaria? Did you know that malaria is the number one killer in Guinea? Did you know that it's 100% preventable?

Malaria is a disease transmitted by the female mosquito Anopheles. What happens is that a mosquito will bite a sick person and then transmits the disease to the next person bitten. Malaria is caused by the parasite plasmodium, or which there are 4 types. The most deadly of these four is plasmodium falciparum, which is the strain predominantly found in Guinea. While anyone can get malaria, those most at risk are pregnant women, children under 5, those who are HIV positive, and foreigners. Once stricken, malaria presents itself with a high and cyclical fever accompanied by chills, body aches and severe headaches. Severe cases can result in seizures, coma, and even death. Malaria is no joke. In fact, after several weeks in Guinea, I experienced a mild case of it and it was the worst headache of my life. I laid in bed, sweating and then shivering, head pounding, with the worst fever I've had here. Thankfully, my case was minor and it went away quickly. For the cases that don't go away, there is treatment available. In Guinea, Artemensinin-Based Combination Therapy is used to treat someone with malaria. You'll have to ask someone else exactly what the previous sentence means. Another option is oral quinine, quinine being something found in tonic water (although in a much smaller dose). Both of these options are available here, and are reasonably priced.

As I mentioned before, malaria is the number one killer in Guinea. Malaria accounts for about 25% of the deaths of children under 5, and 30% of all hospitalizations. The good news? It can be stopped! There are many ways to prevent the transmission of malaria. The most effective of these measures is sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net every night. This not only reduces the likelihood of being bitten, but the insecticide kills any mosquito landing on the net. Other measure of protection including spraying houses with insecticide, eliminated mosquito breeding grounds, aka, stagnant water, wearing long sleeves and pants, drowning oneself in bug spray, or taking some for of malaria prophylaxis. This last method is popular with foreigners, who take one of three different types of medicine. All PC Volunteers in Guinea, and throughout most of SSA are required to take these medications all year round. Finally, pregnant women are encouraged to take malaria prevention medicine, in order to protect themselves and the baby, and this medicine is supposed to be continuously available at health centers.

So that is the deal. Malaria is spread by mosquitos and cannot be spread by people, or as the people believe here, mangoes. In addition, malaria is PREVENTABLE and for the most part has been eliminated in countries such as the US, Morocco, Senegal, Mozambique, Namibia, and Botswana. It takes a lot of work, but it is possible. Around the globe, PC Volunteers are involved in Malaria Month, one month dedicated to the prevention and eventual elimination of the disease. Volunteers, including myself are planning activities in their village to educate their communities. Here in Coliah, I'll be educating my students by incorporating malaria into my math lessons, I'll be going around my neighborhood making sure people are using their bed nets (or helping to hand them if they aren't) and I'm also helping to plan a soccer game, during which we will talk to people about malaria and how to stop it. So, Happy Malaria Month! Thanks for reading, and please share what you learned with others.  

Click here to read a poem/PSA by Doctor Seuss about malaria - http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/thisisann.htm